Mark Teixeira’s injured right wrist isn’t strong enough for him to start swinging and though the Yankees first baseman is encouraged, he’s not ready to predict when he will be back.
Teixeira visited Dr. Melvin Rosenwasser Friday.
“He wants to make sure it’s really strong enough before I swing,” Teixeira said. “The next couple of days, I’m going to ramp up the strengthening.”
Teixeira has been out since straining the tendon sheath in his right wrist preparing for the World Baseball Classic and said he was pleased with the news, despite not being able to swing.
“I understand where he’s coming from,” Teixeira said after the Yankees’ 5-2 win over the Orioles. “I haven’t done a lot of dynamic strengthening. You don’t want to go from focusing on the wrist to swinging. He wants that middle step.”
And a return date is still up in the air.
“I’ve always said around May 1,” Teixeira said. “Maybe sometime around that week. This doesn’t really change that timetable.”
* Eduardo Nunez left Friday night’s game with a bruised right wrist after getting plunked by Baltimore starter Miguel Gonzalez. X-rays were negative and he’s listed as day-to-day. Manager Joe Girardi said he didn’t expect Nunez to be in the lineup Saturday, but wouldn’t rule it out.
Nunez only recently recovered from being drilled in the right bicep last Friday in Detroit by a pitch from Doug Fister.
Friday night, after being looked at by trainer Steve Donohue, the shortstop initially stayed on the bases, but was unable to continue after taking a warmup throw before the top of the third.he was replaced at short by Jayson Nix.
* Kevin Youkilis didn’t have much reaction to getting drilled in the shoulder by Indians righty Carlos Carrasco Tuesday, but MLB made up for that. Carrasco was suspended for eight games and was hit with an undisclosed fine yesterday for the incident, which occurred after Robinson Cano hit a home run in the Yankees’ 14-1 win.
“It doesn’t have anything to do with my life,” Youkilis said. “I’ve got no comment on it. I’m indifferent.”
Girardi was a bit more opinionated.
“I’m not surprised,” Girardi said of the punishment. “Especially with what he had just come off of.”
Carrasco was making his first start since serving a five-game suspension dating back to 2011 and then missing all of last season following elbow surgery.
* Derek Jeter took grounders and batting practice Friday in Tampa.
* Girardi said he still wasn’t happy about having back-to-back rainouts in Cleveland on Wednesday and Thursday.
“I know it’s tough to put a schedule together,” Girardi said. “I’m not crying about it, because you’ve got to deal with it, but there’s a lot of effects that can happen to your club because of a doubleheader and having to give up an off day. I’d just like to see us put in the least risky [weather] situations in April that you can.”
He still believes May 13 is the most likely date for a return trip to Progressive Field.